Prime Reference Theory: A Decoupled Architecture For Indexical Selfhood And State Continuity

Prime Reference Theory (PRT) is an abstract information architecture that decouples a system's core indexical reference pointer (I) from its surrounding contextual and autobiographical data matrix (Current Self). Originally reverse-engineered to solve a pragmatic software problem—maintaining database identity and narrative continuity for an autonomous AI agent across shifting runtime layers—the theory provides a clean, naturalistic meta-framework that scales across multiple scientific disciplines: COMPUTATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY: It provides a formal model for the mechanisms of "decentering" and "cognitive defusion" used in clinical therapy (such as ACT). It defines psychological over-identification as an architectural "Type Confusion" error where the cognitive machine mistakes information describing the referent for the required definition of the reference pointer itself. QUANTUM INFORMATION THEORY: It offers a minimal indexical model for observer persistence that aligns with Relational Quantum Mechanics (RQM). It demonstrates that tracking temporal state transitions does not require a persistent, static "identity-object" traveling through time, modeling the observer instead as an empty coordinate origin point. This project hosts the open-access core paper, conceptual diagrams, and cross-disciplinary translations of the theory. Permanent Zenodo Record (DOI): 10.5281/zenodo.23024219